Apocalypse Ooo
by koosschwartz7
Summary: "There is no time. We might have a problem." Death said. "I fear my herald is free again." What will happen when the Lich gains the power of the nightosphere amulet? Ooo is sent into the next Apocalypse, and its up to team Finn & Jake to save the world. This fic is the ending to the Adventure time saga, origins and endings, without any Marshall Lee, Fiona or Gumball.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Hunson Abadeer floated over the nightosphere, relishing in the misery of the souls below him.

_Kill them. Kill them all! Let death have them! _the Nightosphere Amulet whispered around his neck.

"No, Death is a cool guy. I don't want to bother him with all my guests."

_Death would take your soul if he could._

"But he can't. We have an understanding."

_JUST KILL THEM!_

Hunson shut the amulet out. He had once thought it would be silenced if Marceline took the amulet and ruled the Nightosphere. Turns out he was just pure evil. The voice might just as well have come from himself. So he ruled, day in and day out. Same old grind.

Every hundred years or so death would pop in for a visit. Hunson relished those days. He couldn't really understand friendship but he'd like to think death was his friend. Today was one of those days. He landed on the sulphur plane and checked his watch. Just in time. Death should arrive any minute now. Death was a punctual guy, it waited for no man.

A light breeze stirred the layer of ash on the plane. It swirled tighter together and packed itself into the form of Death impersonated.

Hunsen approached him with a smile. "Hi old friend! How are things in the underworld?"

Death materialized completely and fixed Hunsen with a bottomless stare. "I don't have much time. I can only bring a warning before I have to leave again."

"Aw man, I thought we could invite Peppermint butler and play some golf? Ya know, kick back and relax once every hundred years..."

"There is no time. We might have a problem." Death said and raised his palm before him. Light swirled around his bony hand before materializing into two souls. A tiny elephant and a pig.

"Hey I remember those two." said Hunsen. "What was her name again... Appletree? Appletrunk?"

"Treetrunks and Mister Pig." Death said, sounding impatient. "They arrived last night. However they are not the problem, it's what they were guarding that bothers me."

Death let the souls fade back to the underworld. "I believe my herald is free again."

Hunsen raised an eyebrow. "You let those two guard your herald?"

Death sighed. "Circumstances allowed it, and at the time I thought it might be over for him."

"It will _never _be over for him." Hunsen hissed through clenched teeth.

"You'd be surprised." said Death. "Anyway, I must leave soon. This was the only warning I could give you."

"Hey wait a second! What would he want with me?" asked Hunsen.

"I'm sure you know." Death said, then disintegrated back into ash.

Hunsen stared at the spot where death had vanished, a little disappointed that they didn't get to play golf after all. But that would have to wait, the Lich was just about the only thing that posed a serious threat to Marceline, and that got his attention. Time to head home. He would have to inform Marceline about the true purpose of…

_Crack._

An almost inaudible sound broke the quiet on the sulphur plane, causing Hunsen to spin around. He saw only ash, gently flitting down and covering the ground in a thin layer. "Must be the amulet." Hunsen mused and turned to leave. He didn't get far. Death's herald leapt up from the edge of the plain and knocked him down with a single blast of hellfire. The force of the blast plowed Hunsen into the ash and sent his head spinning. The Lich pinned him to the ground before he could move.

Abadeer spat ash from his mouth before eyeing the Lich. "You missed your master by about five seconds, you know."

The tattered remains of a faintly humanoid body hung around the Lich's bones, but any qualities associated with that were gone. He was Death's dark herald once again.

"You forget, Abadeer, that I am his herald." said the Lich. "I know when he comes and when he leaves."

Hunsen managed a sneer below the weight of the Lich's grip. "A pity then, you failed so badly a thousand years years ago. You should really stick to your own work."

"A thousand years ago I didn't have this." the Lich said, and dangled an amulet in front of Hunsen's face.

Hunsen's breath caught in his throat. The amulet looked exactly like the Nightosphere amulet, even up close he couldn't tell the difference.

'_I didn't know you had a twin_.' he thought at the amulet around his neck. Only silence greeted him. He glanced at the place where his amulet should have hung but found the Lich's hellfire blast had burned straight through his suit. His amulet was nowhere to be found. Unless…

He looked more closely at the amulet in the Lich's hand. "It can't be. How?"

The Lich sneered. "Death is fast. His herald needs to be faster. You have long been the soulkeeper of those death didn't want, but I am pleased to let you know you are relieved of duty."

The Lich slammed the amulet down onto Abadeer's forehead. In an explosion of black dust, Abadeer was sucked into the amulet, mind body and soul. When the Lich placed the amulet back around his neck he felt new bounds of strength that far exceeded his own.

"Oh Abadeer, if only you'd joined me a thousand years ago. The cosmos itself would have trembled at our power. But tomorrow we take Ooo, and then it will."


	2. Chapter 1 - Finn

Chapter 1 - Finn

Finn walked through the forest, casually whistling a song. Today was a good day, Jake was at Lady's but the day was too beautiful to be spent at home. So Finn had grabbed his backpack and set off for Treetrunks's house in search of some apple pie. Good days had been few and far between the last few months. The Lich had killed Prismo, one of the coolest guys around and Finn had lost his arm along with his grass sword when he found his dad.

His dad. He still wasn't sure how he felt about that guy. Everything he now knew about his dad disgusted him, but it was the only known link to his past that he knew of. He might need to find him again sooner or later and get him to spill the beans on Finn's life, including his mother.

The air in the forest had a very faint, smoky aroma to it which stirred something else which had been troubling him. Flame princess. That's one problem he couldn't blame anyone for. Things had been going great, but he managed to mess it all up on his own. He gave up on her at long last after the Cinnamon Bun incident, which still kind of irked him.

'_Play with fire and get burned.'_ he thought miserably. For her he would have burned to ash.

Ash. Finn stopped and looked closer. The air now smelled more strongly of smoke, and a few flakes of ash drifted in the wind. Finn's neck prickled, and he instinctively reached for his sword, but found nothing.

'_Still no sword Finn_' He mentally scolded himself. '_You will have to fix that sooner or later._'

He Picked up the pace, anxious to get to Treetrunks's house. The smell of smoke got stronger as he approached the clearing in the forest. A sick sensation began to build in his stomach, something that had bothered him but that he was too afraid to consider. Finn burst through the underbrush at the edge of the clearing.

Where Treetrunks's house should have been, only a raging inferno greeted him. Sulphur burned his eyes and the heat was so intense it could have rivaled flame princess. But Treetrunks was inside, and Finn wouldn't just stand by. He rushed at the door, but his face blistered before he got close, and he was forced to back away again.

"TREETRUNKS!" He screamed from a safe distance. "I'm sorry Treetrunks!" The tears that ran down the side of his face weren't entirely from the smoke now. The remains of Treetrunks's house collapsed in on itself as the wooden supports finally gave way, and Finn fell to his knees. He knew he should have ran for help, but he couldn't get his legs to move.

So much for his good day.

Finn mentally made his peace and stood to leave. He had some ways to travel before night fell, and time was of the essence. He turned and headed for the Candy Kingdom.

An hour later he entered the Candy Kingdom's gates. Some of the candy people cried out when they saw his blistered face and singed clothes. He ignored them and made a beeline straight for the castle.

At the castle gate one of the Banana Guards stopped him. "I need to see PB." he said.

"Princess Bubblegum has left strict orders not to be disturbed." The Guard said.

"You don't understand." said Finn. "She really needs to hear what I have to say."

"No Finn, just because you've saved us a couple of times doesn't make you special. You need to follow the rules same as everyone else."

"But this is an emergency!" Finn said, his temper rising to the surface now. "People were hurt!"

"No can do, Finn. You'll have to wait." the guard said and blocked the door with his spear.

"I really don't have time for this!" Finn yelled and pushed the Guard out of the way. He burst into the castle, a little too violently maybe, because PB jerked with shock and threw a bunch of papers from her table. Her long hair was tied into a bun and she was wearing glasses and her lab coat.

"Finn! What's the meaning of this? I gave my guards express orders to stop anyone from bothering me!"

"You really want to hear what I have to say PB." Finn said, genuinely irritated now.

"I'm busy with some really important stuff, Finn. And what happened to your face?" said PB, but then smirked slightly. "Don't tell me, you tried to make a move on Flame princess again, and this time you got burnt." She flopped down into a chair and actually smiled a little. "I may be able to heal some burns Finn, but no matter how many times I tell you, I just can't change your mind. That girl is bad news, Finn. You should learn to-"

"Treetrunks is dead." Finn said, more to shut PB up than anything else. "But thanks for the sentiment."

Princess Bubblegum's face froze in mid sentence. "Wait-, what?"

"Her house was on fire when I got there. I tried to rush in for the rescue, but it turns out that was one rescue I couldn't do. Thus the burns." Saying it out loud somehow made it true, final. Sadness threatened to overwhelm him, but he kept his cool in front of PB.

Three banana guards finally rushed in from the door where Finn forced his entry, but PB raised her hand to stop them. "Guards, fetch Morrow for me. And send for Jake as well please."

The Guards left and PB turned to Peppermint Butler. "You know what to do." Peppermint Butler nodded and left, leaving PB alone with Finn.

"We'll need to treat those burns before they scar." she said and took some bandages and ointment from a first aid kit.

"I'd rather we take care of Treetrunks first, we need to investigate."

"I have already sent some people to start the investigation, we can join up later. Now, sit still while I treat those burns."

Finn rolled his eyes but sat down on the stretcher anyway. After PB had cleaned and dressed the blisters, Peppermint Butler rejoined them.

"What did you find?" PB asked him.

"Treetrunks and Mister Pig are both in death's realm alright, but something blocked me out. I can't get back there to question them."

"I thought you were on good terms with Death?" asked PB.

Peppermint Butler shrugged. "So did I. But I couldn't find him anywhere. Something is seriously wrong down there."

A faint suspicion began to build in Finn's mind. "When you were in death's realm, did you also happen to see a giant baby that kind of resembled the Lich?"

Peppermint Butler flinched and PB turned slightly pinker.

"Err… Finn, why would Treetrunks have a baby that looks like the lich?" asked PB.

"It's a long story, but the short version goes something like this." Finn took a deep breath and jumped into the story. "Jake tricked the Lich into using his wish to send us home from the wish master's chamber but the Lich later killed Prismo so the guardians of the timeline would take him to the citadel and he could escape but we followed him there because I wanted to find my dad and it turns out.." Finn took another deep breath and continued his ramble. "...turns out my dad is a real jerk and when the lich burned down the crystal prisons the guardian's blood turned the Lich into a real big baby so we left it on Treetrunks's porch and legged it."

Finn inhaled heavily for a few seconds, but it felt good to let the secret out. PB just stood there with her mouth hanging open.

"You... you went to the citadel?" she asked, incredulously. "And the wishmaster is dead?"

"Yes and we left baby Lich on Treetrunks's porch. Didn't you listen?"

"Finn, the Lich is a nonsingular entity that's bound to a mortal body. It cannot be killed, it can only be trapped or have its mortal body temporarily destroyed. You should have trapped it in the amber again!" shrieked Princess Bubblegum.

"But it was just a harmless baby!"

"That harmless baby is probably what killed Treetrunks."

"Well how was I to know? I can't just kill a baby, that's the kind of stuff that messes with your melon heart."

PB closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her index and middle finger. "I don't blame you Finn, I just wish things could have turned out differently."

"If I had a sandwich for every time I've wished that, I would be fat." said Finn.

"So it's true then." Finn looked up at the sound of Jake's voice. Jake looked like he had just ran all the way from Lady's place. "Is Treetrunks really gone Finn?"

"I'm afraid so."

"And baby Lich killed her?"

"That's what we suspect."

Finn and Jake stood there for a couple of seconds in silence. Both knew they had screwed up badly this time. PB Finally broke the silence.

"Well if the Lich is free we have to track him down. We can't risk letting him gain more power."

A banana guard interrupted them with the news that Morrow was saddled and ready.

"I'll investigate the fire, but I need you guys to go to Marceline and tell her about all of this. She'll know what to do."

"We're on it." Finn and Jake said together.

As PB left Finn imagined facing the Lich again, and fear wiggled behind his belly button.

'_I really need a new sword._'


	3. Chapter 2 - Finn

Groovy tunes resonated through the cave as Finn and Jake approached Marceline's house. She sat out on her front porch slapping her bass and draining the red from apples.

"Nice tunes Marceline."

"Thanks Finn. You guys come to jam?"

"Actually we have more pressing concerns right now." said Jake. "Uhm… Finn?"

Finn told Marceline everything that had happened, only leaving out the parts about PB badmouthing Flame Princess.

"...and then PB told us to find you."

Marceline's fingers had stopped on the strings of her bass. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this."

"Why? What is it that you have to do?" asked Finn.

Marceline hung her axe-bass on the guitar pegs on her wall. "I have to tell my dad."

Jake gasped and Finn's skin tingled. "You mean go back to the nightosphere? No way Marceline, not after what happened last time!"

"This is bigger than me. My dad is the only person who can stand against the Lich."

"That's polony!" yelled Finn.

"I think you mean Bologna, Finn." said Jake.

"Whatever! The Lich isn't an omnipotent force of evil! We've stopped him at least three times without the help of Hunsen Abadeer and we'll do it again!"

"Oh Finn, this time is different." said Marceline. Her eyes seemed to glint with a hint of sadness. "A thousand years ago Billy fought the Lich with the help of all the old world's survivors. Simon had almost lost his mind completely by then. The last battle pushed him over the edge." Marceline let her gaze drop and hid her face with her long hair.

"Wow, you mean the Ice King fought against the Lich?" asked Jake.

"He wasn't the Ice King yet, he was still Simon Petrikov." said Marceline. "He was my friend, and the noblest man in the old world. But when the Lich rose he had to leave me in the civilian refugee camp while he joined the fighting forces. He… He promised he would come back."

Marceline drew a shaky breath. "Oh I waited for him. Weeks went by before we got news. When it finally came, it was bad. The resistance effort had failed. The Lich was at the edge of the refugee camp with his entire army, and there was no one to stop him."

Marceline stood up and wiped at her eyes. A smile played at the edges of her mouth.

"Or so we thought. The Lich marched in and killed mercilessly. I managed to hide for a while but eventually he found me. I was just about the only one left alive by then. His minions brought me to the Lich where he gave me an ultimatum: join me or die."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "So did you join him then?"

"It was a no-brainer." chuckled Marceline. "I chose death."

"How though?" asked Finn. "You're still here."

"At the last second, just before the Lich struck the killing blow, a bolt of ice crashed into the Lich and sent him flying. It was Simon, but the weight of the crown had driven him to the brink of insanity."

"Don't you touch Gunther you meanie!" Marceline shouted while prancing around in a disturbingly good impression of the Ice King.

"I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. But he was not alone. At his side was Billy, a then new hero, and a demonoid person who I later found to be my father. Together they imprisoned the Lich in amber and took him away."

"But it wasn't a happy ending." sighed Marceline. "Simon had completely lost it, and I had to go live with my dad for the next couple of years."

"That's a great story and all, but how does that help us with our Lich problem?" asked Finn.

"My point is that every time you have fought the Lich you had help. But now Billy is gone, Simon is.. well he's the Ice King now, Prismo is dead and you don't even have a proper sword anymore. You. Need. Help. And my father is the only option left."

"Why would he help us?" asked Jake. "We didn't exactly part on good terms."

"Because," sighed Marceline. "I will ask him for his help. He can't refuse his own daughter."

"Why not?" asked Finn. "Seems to me like he can do whatever he wants."

"I think you need to learn a little more about a girl who really wants something, Finn." said Marceline and winked at Finn. "Anyway, I should get going. Death waits for no man. Trust me, I've met him."

"So have we." said Finn, but Marceline was already leaving. "I get the feeling we might get to know him a whole lot better pretty soon."

"Cut it out, you sound like cosmic owl." said Jake.

"Right." said Finn. "We have to stay positive, get active again. And I think I know exactly where to begin."

Jake gave a knowing smile. "New sword?"

Finn nodded. "New sword. Lets go see choose goose."


	4. Chapter 3 - Marceline

The crossing into the Nightosphere brought goosebumps to Marceline's skin like always.

'_You'd think I'd get used to this._' thought Marceline. '_I guess I'm more human than I care to admit. Maybe I'm just more like Simon than my dad._'

She stopped to get her bearings. The crossing didn't eject her exactly where she wanted to go, but it was close enough to fly there.

'_One day my dad will have to teach me how his gates are so accurate. He always ends up exactly where he wants to be._'

Marceline still wasn't sure how she felt about her dad. On one hand, he was a self-entitled prick. On the other, he was the only family she had left from the old world, and that had to count for something. Of course it would help if he didn't occasionally try to force the burden of the Nightosphere on her.

'Ugh! You'd have thought I'd figure this out somewhere in the last 900 years.' she mumbled irritably. 'Lets just get this over with.'

She sped up. The Nightosphere whizzed by below her and her father's palace winked on the horizon. She slowed her approach when she got closer and landed outside the palace gates. The towers which were usually manned by some guard demons were empty, and the gates hung open.

'_Strange..._' thought Marceline. '_These towers should be guarded._'

She cautiously entered the palace grounds and made her way to the castle. Everything was abandoned. The nightosphere wasn't the most pleasant place, but now it felt even more eerie. Marceline ignored an impulse to flee and carried on to the throne room.

When she came closer she heard a low voice emanating from the throne room. The indistinct words sounded like bones being scraped against a stone floor. Marceline turned invisible and floated up to a window. What she saw almost made her cry out in alarm.

Every demon in the nightosphere was packed into the throne room and on the high throne sat the Lich. He was speaking in low tones but the room was so quiet his voice carried to every corner.

"I am unstoppable. I am Death's herald. Death can no more catch me than you can catch a ray of light." the Lich was draped in a cloak that looked like it was woven from the blackest souls. It writhed and boiled around him where it touched the floor, like the souls were desperately trying to escape. "But tonight friends, I will not lie to you." said the Lich. "I have been stopped before. There are some beings who have been able to do what even Death could not. Some of the old ones… opposed me."

Even here, in her father's home, the cold hatred that emanated from that sentence froze Marceline's blood. She scanned the demonic horde in search of her father but couldn't find him anywhere.

"But the old times have passed. A new age is here, and I intend to take my rightful place as Herald again!" the Lich rose and bared his chest. Marceline gasped and nearly broke her invisibility. Around the Lich's neck hung the nightosphere amulet. Her father's amulet.

"Behold! I have defeated Hunsen Abadeer and taken his stone of power!" roared the Lich. "Now there is no one to stop me! Tonight we will rise up and take all of Ooo for demonkind!"

The demonic horde roared in approval, their bloodlust driven into a frenzy by the Lich's words. For the first time in hundreds of years, Marceline was afraid. Somewhere in the bottom of her boots her fears wiggled loose and shot through her feet, up her legs and into her heart.

'_My father is dead._'

The demons started changing shape. They turned from their docile little forms and grew teeth and claws. They started spitting fire and poison as if the Lich had filled them with his own hatred and it now boiled over in them.

'_My father is dead._'

Marceline couldn't stand it anymore. She turned and flew out of the castle as fast as she can. Tears welled up in her eyes and blurred her vision. Her body started shaking. She had to get out of the nightosphere, had to warn Finn and Jake. They had to form an army, kingdoms needed to join forces.

'_My father is dead._'

Marceline yanked open a portal, but she couldn't concentrate on its destination. She dove in regardless, she just wanted to get out of the nightosphere. The first thing she felt on the other side was cold. The portal spinned out of control and spit her out on the icy floor where she lay in a little bundle, shaking and crying.

"Whoah! What the jam was that?" exclaimed a familiar voice. "Gunther, did you get into my wiz-biz again? Why I oughta..."

Ice King's voice cut off half way. "Marceline? How did you… hey are you alright?"

Tears wet her cheeks as she slowly looked up at the familiar face of Simon.

"What's wrong Marcy?" asked the Ice King. Simon's voice seemed to break through at the edges.

"My father is dead." wept Marceline, then completely broke down.


	5. Chapter 4 - Finn

"You just need to get used to it." chided Jake. "That sword is made of some of the finest steel in Ooo, it'll do just fine."

Finn tried another stab at the gumdrop dummy and skewered it through the chest. "I don't know what to tell you, man. It performs just fine, it's sharp and is in great condition." he said and yanked the sword from the dummy.

"So what's the problem?"

Finn sighed. "My grass sword was the perfect weapon. It didn't feel like a tool, it felt like an extension of my arm. When we fought we were one. This sword shows some great craftsmanship but it feels like I'm dancing with LSP."

Jake looked at Finn in confusion. "I don't get it, what's dancing with LSP feel like?"

"Not wrong, I suppose." said Finn with a wink. "But it sure as hell don't feel right!"

Jake burst into laughter. Finn cracked a smile and turned back to his dummy. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he felt a distinct sense of dread. Sure, he's saved the world before but this time felt different. All around him guards were training in the courtyard. The sound of spears being sharpened and axes being honed filled the air. A certain tension was building, like a dam's wall being strained during a hurricane.

Finn removed the head from the dummy in one smooth flourish. A small number of candy people who had gathered to watch applauded.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of it." said Jake. "Lets take a break and go check on PB, she might have made some progress with the investigation."

"Yeah, I'm pooped." said Finn and sheathed his sword. As they crossed the courtyard to the castle Finn noticed just how much more active the Candy Kingdom's guards had become. For the first time Finn saw them sparring and practising military maneuvers.

"I didn't even know the candy kingdom had an army, I always thought the gumball guardians would protect the kingdom if the need arose." said Finn.

"I think PB feels responsible for a lot more than just the candy kingdom." said Jake and stretched them up the ramparts to the castle. "She acts like Ooo's mother, letting the kingdoms do their own thing but exercising her own measure of control."

"Somehow I doubt she will mother the _Lich _into submission." said Finn as they entered Princess Bubblegum's laboratory.

"Who will do what now?" she asked as she looked up from her work. She was wearing her labcoat and glasses which magnified her eyes to about twice their size. The sight brought a smile to Finn's face which he tried to hide by inspecting his shoes.

"It was nothing, princess." said Jake. "How goes the investigation?"

PB sighed and took off her glasses, allowing Finn to face her seriously again. "I'm not sure. I've got crazy readings and mountains of data that supports our Lich theory, but I have no idea how to track him down. It's like he exploded and then vanished."

"Any news from around Ooo?" asked Finn. "If he's truly on the move again someone's bound to notice something."

"Nothing specific. Apparently I offended Lumpy Space and they won't talk to me right now. Cinnamon Bun reports that even the Fire Kingdom is at peace."

Finn's eye gave an involuntary twitch at the mention of CB but he kept his cool. "So what's the plan then?" he asked.

"We stay on high alert." said PB. "Until we find the Lich, nobody is safe. And find him we must, every second that passes is another second for him to grow stronger. I have sent out scouts to every corner of Ooo but so far no news."

"You can call your scouts back." said a voice from the window. Finn and Jake turned around just in time to see Marceline turning back to Vampire form from her bat-form. "Seriously, you're gonna need every soldier you have."

Marceline's face was streaked with dry tears and even though the sun was setting she had gotten some pretty bad burns on her way here.

"Marcy!" cried Princess Bubblegum. "Here, heal yourself!" PB handed marcy a basket filled with strawberry candy which Marceline greedily sucked the red from. "Tell us what happened. What did you find out?"

"My father… well lets just say that he won't be helping us." Marceline dropped her gaze. "The Lich has the nightosphere amulet and has taken control of the demonic horde in the Nightosphere. By sunrise tomorrow morning he will open a portal to Ooo and destroy everything in his path."

Stunned silence hung in the room. The last of the burns on Marceline's face healed up and she put the white strawberries back down.

"I'm sorry, Marcy." said Princess Bubblegum.

Marceline shrugged. "It is what it is. If we want to stop the same from happening to the rest of Ooo I'd suggest we get a warning out and recruit some militia."

PB nodded. "I think I know what to do. Follow me to my lab, there's something I'd like to show you."

Finn, Jake and Marceline followed PB up the stairs into the tower where she had built her laboratory. The last bit of sunlight peeked over the horizon as the sun set, and Jake shut the window shutters to keep Marceline from burning again.

"I've been working on a method of communication that can cover long distances but doesn't get affected by weather and such." said PB. "I came up with these."

She opened a metal box to reveal a bunch of polished balls of glass about the size of a fist.

"I take it those aren't marbles." said Finn. "What do they do?"

"I call them holostones." said PB. "They work by refracting energy through the gumball guardians' glass heads over long distances and.. well maybe its just easier to show you." said PB and placed one stone on the floor and handed another to Marceline. "Fly this up to the top of the top of the castle and place it on the floor, would you?" she asked.

Marceline took the ball and flew out the window. Finn saw her shoot upwards through the evening dusk and settle on the highest point of the castle. A few seconds later however, he heard her voice behind him. "Hello? Is this thing on?"

Finn spun around to find an image of Marceline floating above the sphere PB had placed on the floor.

"Loud and clear, Marcy." said PB

"Wow! This is amazing, Bubblegum." said Jake. "You say this thing's signal can't be interrupted?"

"As long as the gumball guardians stand, sure." said PB. "Anyway, you can come back down now Marceline." Marceline quickly floated back down through the window. "Right, what I need you guys to do is take one holostone and a message to each ruler of every kingdom."

"I can have it done within the hour." said Marceline. "Only I'm not allowed in some of the kingdoms. Wildberry princess fears I will suck the red from her berry-people, and Flame princess is also not a fan of me."

"Finn and Jake can handle those two. As soon as you hand them the holostones their crown jewels will activate my message." said Princess Bubblegum. She fiddled with the stones a little while longer then spoke her message into her stone before handing the rest to them.

Marceline flew out the window again and disappeared into the night, her set of holostones jingling in her backpack.

"Dibs on wildberry kingdom!" said Jake.

"Hey!" exclaimed Finn. "That only leaves me with Flame… kingdom. That's not fair man!"

"This is bigger than you now, you need to deal with this while you still can, man." said Jake and shaped his hands into a wall clock. "Time is running out and you don't want any distractions on the battlefield."

"That's exactly why I don't want to see Flame Princess again!"

"Hey, I don't have time to listen to you two bicker all night!" interrupted Princess Bubblegum. "Just do whatever the hell it is you have to do to get those holostones to their new owners. Daybreak is in six hours and I still have to mobilize a defence force before then!"

"Geez, alright P-Bubs." said Finn. "I'll go to Flame Kingdom and deliver your stupid Holy Stone."

"Oh my Glob." sighed PB. "HOLO-stone Finn! Like in hologram or holo..." she stopped short when she saw Finn and Jake snickering.

"Urgh! I don't have time for this! Get going you two!" exclaimed Princess Bubblegum and hustled them out the door.

"In all seriousness Finn, " said Jake as they stepped into the cool night air. "I understand it's awkward around FP, but tomorrow we face the biggest threat to Ooo that we have ever seen, this is bigger than both of us."

"I know, Jake. And I really mean it. Thousands of lives hang in the balance and the only way we stand a chance against that demonic horde is if everyone joins forces."

"Sounds a little daunting when you say it like that." said Jake.

"No," said Finn with a wink. "It sounds like an adventure."

"Glad to see you're so optimistic. But after I deliver this holostone I'm going to Lady's to make sure she's safe."

"Alright but keep an eye out come sunrise, I don't want to fight alone."

Jake smiled. "Finn, Ooo loves you. You'll never fight alone."

"Lets hope you're right." said Finn and set off in the direction of the flame kingdom.


End file.
